Thursday, 13 June 2013

Woman of Impossible proportion

One of the most popular games in game history and game characters is the famous Tomb Raider, which was released in 1996. The heroine and main focus of the game is the much sought-after Lara Croft. She is an intelligent, ass-kicking, gun-wielding, sexpot, who is ready to take on an army of gunfire before your jaw has even dropped. So why is it that many women don’t play Tomb Raider these days if she is the heroine symbol that most women campaign for in the game industry? In this game the role of females are not the damsel in distress, eye candy portrayed in many other games, but she is still again, an overly sexualized version of women and the female role in video games. It seems the portrayal of a strong and intelligent sexy main character would provoke women in video games, in many ways this character seemed to further part the already wide divide between women and male gamers due to her still overly sexualized concept. Lara Croft is a beautifully aesthetic character but is still a woman of impossible proportion. Her pouted lips and athletic physique would be attractive to many but un-realistic to still look that dolled up whilst gunning down a knife-wielding Libyan.